Antebellum
by Lev
Summary: [complete]Set during Episode Zero while Duo is staying at the Maxwell Church. He is shunned by the other orphans until a boy with no name who doesn't talk shows up at the church's doorstep. [semi-shounen ai, set during Ep. Zero, young G-boys!]


Antebellum by Lev __

Notes: This doesn't _really_ fit into the Episode Zero timeline, but I tried. The boys are about seven.  
I'm making up everything about Sister Helen and Father Maxwell's appearances, except for the fact that she's young and he's old.  
I named kids in the orphanage after people I don't like. How horrible is that?

Antebellum is Latin for "before war," in case you didn't know. (It is generally used to refer to the period of time before the American Civil War.)

There _is_ a footnote, but it's actually relevant to the fic. So **read** it.

****

Antebellum by Lev

"Sister Helen, Sister Helen! Come see! I think he's dead!"

Helen's eyes widened slightly and she walked quickly in the direction of Duo's voice. The boy was a magnet for trouble--not to mention he didn't seem to think much of finding dead bodies. However, she couldn't really blame him for that--dead bodies were a mainstay in the general terrain of the L2 cluster. "Duo?" she called. "Where are you?"

"Here."

She jumped slightly at the voice that was so near and turned around, lips pressing together in a thin line as she took in the scene. Duo was standing, using his foot to nudge at a small body lying along the wall of the building, facedown.

Helen crossed the distance between them with a few steps and knelt beside the child. She rolled him over gently while noting the ragged condition of his clothing, which looked to have once been a school uniform. His face was dirty, and there was dried blood above one oddly shaped eyebrow. It also had a gaunt appearance that implied he hadn't eaten in days. Her fingers pressed against the slender neck, relief flooding her as she found a steady pulse. Her other hand moved over his nose and mouth and felt the gentle puffs of air that meant he was breathing.

At her side, Duo peered at the boy, who looked to be his own age, curiously. "Is 'e dead?"

"Duo!" the nun admonished. "You shouldn't sound like you want him to be dead!"

Duo bit his lower lip and mumbled, "Sorry," while staring at the ground.

Carefully, she slid her arms around the unconscious boy on the ground and lifted him into her arms. "It's all right, Duo. And no, he isn't."

The violet-eyed child brightened considerably and followed the nun back into the church and to the room where the orphanage children slept. Unfortunately, there were no unclaimed beds, which Duo quickly realized.

"You can put 'im in my bed," he offered timidly, not sure if the nun was still mad at him or not.

Helen gave the boy a smile before gently placing her burden down and turning her attention to the seemingly lifeless child. She brushed his hair out of his face, and he stirred slightly. "Duo, will you please watch him while I go get a few things?"

The longhaired child nodded and sat on the edge of the bed next to his--Lindsay's. She would probably yell at him later if she found out. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he sighed. None of the other children liked him, and he didn't know why. Violet eyes took on a suspiciously watery sheen as Duo once again wished he was back out on the streets--at least he had had friends then. Now the only people that would talk to him were Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, and no one ever played with him or invited him to join in on their games. After blinking his eyes rapidly and sniffling loudly, he turned his attention back to the boy in his bed. He was Duo--he didn't need anyone.

Sister Helen came back a minute later with some medical supplies and clothes for the sleeping boy. She gently cleaned his face off and bandaged the cut on his forehead, and laid the clothes out at the foot of the bed for him when he woke up. After making sure he didn't have any other injuries she turned her gaze to Duo, who was patiently sitting on the bed, watching curiously.

"Can I take my bath now?"

The blond-haired woman raised an eyebrow. The children in the orphanage were allowed one bath a week, due to the water rationing on the L2 colony--and normally she had to force them into that. "Duo, this isn't the best of times...someone needs to be here when he wakes up." She looked down at the sleeping boy, then back to Duo's face, seeing the disappointment etched clearly on his young features. The nun was about to ask him why he wanted his bath _now_ when she realized that the reason was lying in his bed.

Wordlessly she stood up and walked over to the child, holding her arms out. He nearly fell into them, burying his face against her side.

"Oh, Duo," she sighed. "You do _not_ smell dirty." [1]

Duo sniffed. "Then how come t'other kids don't like me?"

Helen didn't have the answer. She gently led Duo to the bathing room and told him that she'd be back to help him wash his hair. Closing the door quietly behind her, she looked in on her newest charge, making sure he was still asleep--which he was. She then went to find Father Maxwell. Finally finding him in his study, she explained what had happened, and led him back to the newly found boy. 

Then she went back to the bathing room to assist Duo with his long hair. After his bath, she bundled him up in a somewhat threadbare towel and sat him down on a stool, where she proceeded to lovingly untangle and brush his long, light brown hair. Helen braided it expertly and tied off the end with a black elastic band.

He hopped off the stool, got dressed, and was just about to race out the door when he suddenly changed direction, and wrapped his small arms around the nun's waist. "Thank you," he mumbled quickly before running out.

Sister Helen smiled.

***

"When's he gonna wake up?" Duo asked, staring intently at the sleeping boy in his bed.

Father Maxwell smiled. "Patience, Duo. He'll wake up sometime."

The boy fidgeted, rumpling the bedcovers where he sat, his legs tucked up under him, at the foot of his bed. His movement shook the bed slightly, causing the rusty springs to squeak in protest. Duo's eyes widened and he froze, glancing fearfully back and forth from Father Maxwell to the boy in his bed.

The elderly priest opened his mouth to scold the longhaired boy, but saw that Duo hadn't meant to make noise. His mouth closed.

Dark blue eyes fluttered open, surprising both the other occupants of the room. Duo gasped and jumped off the bed, hiding behind Father Maxwell and peeking shyly over the old man's shoulder.

Rising to his feet, Father Maxwell approached the bedside. The boy's dark eyes immediately fixed themselves on him, watching his every move. "You are in Maxwell Church, and I am Father Maxwell. You are safe here. Do you have a name?" He said this very slowly, hoping that the boy understood English.

The boy shook his head and burrowed under the covers until he was completely hidden from view.

"Hmm. Well, I'll leave you alone for a little while. How's that? The other children won't disturb you. Come along, Duo." Duo frowned, looking back at the lump under the sheets before following the priest out. One blue eye peeked out from under the covers and watched him go.

Once they were out of the room, the old man turned to the violet-eyed boy and said, "Duo, I trust that you will not bother him..."

Duo looked downcast and nodded.

"...unless he needs bothering."

Duo stared at him without blinking for a few seconds, then grinned. "Whatever you say, Father." He watched as the old man walked slowly down the hallway, then disappeared into his study. After waiting for a moment, he raced back into the bedroom and skidded to a halt by his bed, heart beating quickly. If he could just talk to this strange new boy before the others did, he could have a--a friend, for the first time in a long while.

"Hi," he said shyly to the lump under his bedcovers. The lump shifted, and two dark blue eyes gleamed in the darkness. Duo swallowed nervously. "I was u-um, just w-wondering if you um, w-wanted something to eat?" he stuttered. The lump moved, but the longhaired child couldn't tell if it was a positive or negative response.

"Was that a yes or a no?" he asked, his voice sounding oddly squeaky.

This time the boy's head emerged from the blanket-cocoon and nodded once before disappearing again.

"Okay! I'll be right back, don't go away!" He jumped up and raced down the hall, careening into a wall in his haste to turn into the orphanage's kitchen. No one was in the room, so, after one last furtive glance over his shoulder, Duo hauled himself up onto the countertop and paced around the scarred Formica, peering into cupboards.

Eventually he had found something he thought the nameless boy would eat, and scampered back toward the sleeping room.

The boy was still buried under the covers, hiding.

"I got some food for you," Duo said, waving an apple over the sheet-covered lump, "but you gotta come out to get it." When the lump moved only slightly, Duo added, "Sister Helen says we ain't 'llowed to eat layin' down 'cause we might choke."

For some reason, that seemed to do the trick--the head of tousled brown hair popped out from the covers, followed by the upper portion of his body. One thin and dirty arm reached out for the red fruit, and Duo carefully refrained from mentioning that Sister Helen also said that they had to wash their hands before eating.

Instead of huddling back under the covers, the boy very solemnly stuck out his hand and looked at Duo expectantly.

Duo thought he had seen Father Maxwell do this before, with the grown-ups that had adopted a Maxwell Church orphan. He held his hand out, and the nameless boy took it and mechanically moved it up and down a few times.

"My name's Duo," he said brightly. "I know y'don't have a name. I didn', either, but my friend gave me one. D'you think I could maybe give you one?"

The nameless boy shrugged and his small teeth dug into the apple's flesh, leaving a perfect impression of his teeth.

"Pro'ly be dumb to call you 'Trio,'" Duo muttered to himself. He glanced up; the first thing that stood out in his mind was the boy's eyes. "Whaddya think of 'Blue'?" They really were a pretty shade of blue. Very dark, like velvet.

The boy licked apple juice from his fingers before meeting Duo's eyes and giving him a tiny smile. A grin stretched the longhaired boy's lips in return. "Okay, Blue. You can change your clothes an' I'll go find Sister Helen." Then he scampered out of the room.

***

The small party came to the final door in the church. Helen paused in front of it, her gray eyes resting on little Duo's serious visage. She was hesitant to bring his time with Blue to an end; she knew Duo thought that once she opened the door and Blue saw what was on the other side--and when what was on the other side saw him--Blue wouldn't want anything to do with him. She also knew that Duo was prepared to make the sacrifice, because he hadn't quite let himself believe that the newest addition to Maxwell Church Orphanage could possibly want to be his friend.

"And here's where the children play," she said softly, the old door swinging open at her touch with a familiar creak. Instantly, fourteen pairs of eyes were trained on the doorway. Duo took a step back so he was standing the farthest away from the room.

"Everyone, this is Blue. He's come to stay with us for a while," she smiled at the other orphans and gently pushed the dark-haired boy forward.

"I'm Adam!"

"Hi, I'm Kate!"

A dozen other garbled introductions followed, none that the new boy actually seemed to care about. He kept glancing back to where Duo was slowly walking down the hallway the way they had come, arms crossed and head bowed. Blue glanced at the other orphans, all smiles and laughter, then back at Duo, who disappeared from his sight a second later. He took a step after Duo, but Sister Helen positioned herself in front of him and gestured toward the open door. "Why don't you go play for a while, Blue? I'm sure the other children would like to; they'll make you feel right at home." She ushered him into the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

***

The longhaired orphan was sitting on his bed, hugging a formless stuffed toy that might once have been a teddy bear. A toy horse lay on its side beside him. Since the other children wouldn't tolerate his presence in the rec room, Sister Helen had let him pick out a few of the toys from there to be his own.

"I don't wan' toys," he whispered to the bear, a sob catching in his throat. "I jus' want someone to be my friend. L-like Solo was 'fore he..." He sniffled and scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "'m not s'posed to cry. Solo'd say I was bein' a big baby...guess I am."

The door clicked shut quietly and Sister Helen sighed deeply. Duo was normally such a cheerful and strong-willed child. But whenever he remembered Solo, his whole manner would alter drastically and he would be morose for days. Lost in her thoughts, an increase of sound in the hallway barely registered with the blonde-haired woman. Helen turned and saw the rec room door being pushed open and a small figure emerging. The children knew they weren't supposed to leave the room... so it had to be the newest arrival.

Blue walked purposefully down the corridor and gave Sister Helen a rather cold look before pushing past her and entering the sleeping room.

Duo looked up when the door opened and stared when he saw who it was. Normally Sister Helen came and played a game with him during the day, but it definitely wasn't Sister Helen.

"What're you doin' here, Blue? Why aren't ya in the rec room?"

"Why aren't _you_ in the rec room?"

Duo blinked rapidly, then stared down at the shapeless bear. He decided to avoid the question. Maybe if Blue didn't know the other kids didn't like him, he's still want to be his friend... "You talked," he pointed out quietly.

"I'm not supposed to talk to anyone here," Blue admitted, hopping up to sit on the edge of Duo's bed.

"Says who?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you." Blue looked at his hands, then at Duo. "What's his name?" he asked, gesturing at the lump still clutched tightly in Duo's arms.

"Don't have one." After a significant pause, Duo asked, "D'you?"

The blue-eyed boy picked up the toy horse and trotted it across the bed to nudge its nose against Duo's knee. "My name's Blue."

A tentative smile pulled at the longhaired child's mouth, and he reached down and patted the plastic horse on the head, its forelock tickling the palm of his hand.

"Why don't you stay with the others?"

Any trace of a smile vanished instantly, replaced by a frown and tear-shiny eyes. "They...they don' like me. They call me names a-and won't play with me. Sister plays with me sometimes," he added in a whisper, "but it's not the same."

Neither boy spoke for a while, the muffled shouts of children playing the only sound in the room.

"I've never had a friend," Blue said abruptly, staring hard at the bed. Duo crawled closer to Blue, hardly believing his ears. "Would...would you be my friend?"

"Y-ya want _me_ t'be your friend? _Me_?"

Blue gave him a smile. "Yeah. You."

And suddenly Blue was looking at the cracked ceiling with a braid in his eyes, thin arms around his chest, and a hoarse voice whispering, "I'll be the bes' friend ever!" vehemently in his ear.

***

Choruses of, "He's not sleeping with me!" echoed in the low-ceilinged room. Duo had given up his bed to make sure Blue would have one until Father retrieved another cot from storage, therefore leaving himself with no place to sleep.

"Justin, would you please...?" the nun pleaded, addressing a slightly older boy with dark hair and a round face.

"Fiiine," he huffed, and made a great show of scooting over in his bed as far as he could. Duo timidly climbed in beside him, and evening prayers and goodnights were said. Sister Helen turned off the lights and left the room.

As soon as the nun's footsteps were no longer audible, Justin shoved Duo out of the bed. The longhaired boy hit the hardwood floor with a thump and bit his lip to keep from crying out. Ignoring Justin's jeering above him, he wordlessly crawled over to his bed and reached under it, pulling out the teddy bear. He hugged it to his chest brutally and curled up on the floor, prepared to sleep there. He really, really wanted to hurt Justin, more for disobeying Sister Helen than any personal harm--he was used to that--but he knew the nun would most certainly disapprove.

Despite the less-than-luxurious surface under him, which was at least relatively clean, Duo fell asleep as deeply as he ever did--which is to say noises louder than a mouse or rat made would wake him.

At approximately one a.m., Blue opened his eyes and scanned the room for possible threats and obstacles, then shoved the covers back and climbed out of bed. He had barely taken a step when he tripped over something large and warm not two feet away from the cot. The "something" gave a startled yelp and sat up, clutching a fuzzy lump to its chest.

"What are you doing down there?" Blue hissed, anxiously surveying the room's other occupants to see if the noise had woken any of them.

"Don' have anywhere else ta go," Duo whispered back.

Crouching next to Duo, he said, "I thought you were sharing with Justin."

Duo said nothing.

Blue fidgeted; he had to contact Odin, but he couldn't with Duo awake and sitting right next to him. And he _had_ to contact him tonight, or Odin's timetable would be thrown off.

"You can share with me," he offered, standing up and holding a hand out to Duo. The longhaired child looked up at him in disbelief. He tentatively reached out and grabbed Blue's hand and was pulled to his feet. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

The blue-eyed orphan made his way toward the door, looking back once to see if Duo had gotten into bed. When he saw Duo standing there, looking at him in utter amazement, he waved his hand in the bed's general direction and mimed Duo laying down. A smile broke out on Duo's face as he did just that.

Hoping the transmitter would work in the bathroom, Blue pulled it out of its hiding place; he had been able to transfer the device when Duo had gone out of the room while he changed his clothes. He closed the bathroom door quietly behind him and turned the lock.

"Odin," he whispered into the device. "Odin, do you read me?"

"Kid," a tinny version of Odin's voice came out of the speaker, louder than Blue had anticipated. He cupped his hand around the transmitter. "Position?"

"Maxwell Church Orphanage, Chiba district."

"Orphanage, huh? Good, Kid. Real good. Contact me tomorrow at 0200. Hold your position. Odin out."

The transmitter went dead; Blue slipped it back into his pocket and reached over to flush the toilet. He turned the water in the sink on for a minute, then turned it off and went back to the sleeping room.

Duo was waiting for him, lying on his side. 

He slipped into bed quietly and was immediately assailed by Duo, who hugged him so hard he heard one of his bones pop. Despite the discomfort, Blue hugged back, grateful that he could at least have a small taste of what it was like to live like a normal child in his situation would, had Odin not found him after the shuttle wreck. And, he could have a friend.

"'Night, Blue," Duo whispered in his ear.

"Goodnight, Duo."

***

Duo was absolutely delighted to have Blue's company during breakfast. Especially when it was discovered that Justin's food had somehow become burnt beyond recognition, and a bug had been in his orange juice, which was revealed when it was knocked over and spilled all over the older boy's clothes.

Chores were also more bearable. Normally, Duo did separate tasks from the others, but with Blue's addition he had company stripping the sheets off all the beds for their weekly washing.

Stealthily, Duo snuck up behind Blue, who was dutifully yanking the sheets from Lindsay's bed. The other orphans were in the main part of the church dusting and polishing the pews, with Sister Helen to supervise. Father Maxwell was in his study, preparing for Mass the next day. No one was around to hear Blue scream--if he made any noise at all. Duo smiled somewhat evilly before launching himself at the other boy and tackling him in a growing pile of sheets with a peal of laughter. Then, while Blue was still floundering in a cloud of cotton, the longhaired boy dashed out of the room and flattened himself against a wall.

When there was no sound of following footsteps, Duo peeked back into the room and didn't see...anyone. He moved a few feet into the room and was just passing a heap of sheets when something grabbed his ankle. He yelped and tumbled over on top of the pile, eliciting an "oof" from the child hiding under it.

"Duo!"

The two boys stopped giggling long enough to disentangle themselves from the sheets and stumble to their feet. "I think Father Maxwell wants me... I'll be righ' back!" Braid whipping behind him, Duo ran down the hallway to the study. The elderly priest was sitting at his desk, hand poised over paper to write.

"Father?"

"Ah, Duo." He turned in his chair and patted his lap. "Come here, little one, I need your help."

"_My_ help?" Duo asked incredulously, but obediently clambered up and plopped (gently, Father was getting on in his years) down in the priest's lap. He wiggled around a little to get comfortable and waited for Father Maxwell to speak.

"Well, tomorrow is Sunday, but I've not written my sermon. I can't think of what to talk about."

"Shi--"

Father Maxwell laughed, removing his finger from the boy's lips. "No, I will not give a sermon on Shinigami. Think of something else, little one."

"Ummm..." Duo crossed his eyes and stared at the paper lying on the desk. "Whadda'bout... um... friends?"

"Friendship, you mean?"

"Yeah!" Duo chirped and bounced excitedly on his seat. "'Cause I have a frien' now an' I think they're neat!" He twisted around and bestowed a thousand-kilowatt smile on the priest.

"So I heard," he murmured, smiling back at the longhaired orphan. "Well, Duo, I think that's a fine topic. I'll let you get back to Blue now."

Duo slid down from his lap, then turned around to face him. "I like helping you," he declared shyly, leaning forward. Father Maxwell enveloped him in a hug and kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, little one. Now, go play."

***

Sister Helen sighed in frustration. Blue had been with them for four days, and no matter what she did, she couldn't get the boy to talk to her. Duo claimed their newest tenant talked to _him_ all the time, but trying to get him to talk to _her_ was as futile as applying for a grant from the L2 Colony government.

After locking eyes with Blue--Duo had named him well--for another second, she glanced up at the clock.

"Okay, children, lunch time!" Saved by the stomach. The children were herded into the kitchen, where sandwiches prepared by Debbie, a church volunteer, awaited them. Blue took his sandwich and went to stand alone by the window. The rather forlorn picture tugged at Helen's heart, and she almost went to stand by the silent boy--but she did not, for she knew it wouldn't do him any good. Blue didn't want her, he wanted Duo.

She looked quickly at the clock once more. In two and a half hours Duo would come home. He was the only one that went to the colony school, and had gotten there only by virtue of his keen intelligence and ability to adapt to new situations. But the fights... they needed to stop, or his "scholarship" would be revoked. And the fights happened almost every day.

Three hours later, Duo trudged up to the church gate, face bruised, hands scraped, clothing torn. Sister Helen made a noise low in her throat and fairly dashed out to meet him. When she knelt in front of him, he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"What happened, Duo?" She tried to keep her tone firm and scolding, but her voice wavered. The longhaired orphan had never come home quite this roughed up.

Violet eyes abruptly lifted from their intense study of the pavement. "It wasn' my fault!" said Duo forcefully. "It wasn' a school fight, neither!"

"Then what was it, little one?" Helen started at Father Maxwell's words, half-turning to glimpse the elderly priest who had come up behind her. The quick glance also revealed Blue, standing half behind Father.

"Ninth street gang," Duo mumbled. "They started yellin' things at me an' I 'nored 'em like you told me to, but then they came af'er me an' I had to fight some to get away."

"Duo... if you would just let me cut your hair--"

"No!" the violet-eyed boy shouted. "No," he repeated. "It wouldn' matter now anyway... they've already picked me out."

Sister Helen sighed and stood, offering her hand to Duo. "Let's get you cleaned up." Duo took her hand and they went in, Father Maxwell and Blue following.

At dinner, Blue stuck close to Duo's side and glared balefully at the other orphans, as if daring them to mess with _his_ friend anymore that day. They seemed to get the message and left them alone. Duo himself was unusually silent.

"It's 'cause of my braid," Duo confided to Blue later. "If I was still a street kid, they wouldn' look twice a'me, but I'm not an' they know it."

"They said you sent another kid to the hospital," Blue murmured back. "Why don't you just..."

"I _can't_! Sister Helen would be mad again an' last time I assiden'ly hurt her when she tried to touch me..."

"Oh." The blue-eyed boy snuggled into the covers. His hand fumbled for something, moving over the sheets until it came into contact with Duo's pajama top. His fingers curled into the hem and held fast. When he had contacted Odin last night, the reception had been clearer and the time lag hadn't been nearly as long. He was getting closer--which meant Blue's time at the orphanage was drawing to a close. He didn't want to go.

Duo smiled at him in the dimness. Blue knew he should tell him, but... The longhaired boy grabbed his other hand and shifted closer.

"'Night, Blue."

The dark-haired orphan was about to reply, but paused. Odin always told him to follow his feelings, but then again, Odin always told him to ignore fear when on the job. Hypocritical, but unsurprising. Sometimes it was good to ignore certain emotions, or at least push them aside. He didn't think this qualified as one of those times.

Blue thought some kind of build-up would be appropriate, so he said, "I wish you could stay here during the day and go to lessons with me." 

"_I_ wish y'could come w'me to the stupid colony school. They jus' try t'make me look dumb, an' I'm not!"

"Can you avoid that gang tomorrow?"

"S'long as I don' get held after class again."

"Okay. Goodnight." Blue leaned over a little and pecked Duo on the cheek.

Violet eyes blinked. The hand not holding Blue's came up to touch the place where he'd kissed him. Duo blinked again and reached out to touch the other boy's cheek.

"Why'd you do that?"

Blue hmmed thoughtfully. Duo sounded bewildered and confused. Perhaps he hadn't taken appropriate action. "Because I like you. I'm sorry, should I not have?"

"SHHHH!" said one of the other orphans in a bed near them. Blue glared into the darkness--therefore the kiss Duo bestowed upon him was rather unexpected.

"I like you, too," the longhaired boy whispered. They shared a smile and closed their eyes. In no time, they were asleep and dreaming.

The next day, Duo came home on time and unscathed. Blue was waiting at the gate for him. Odin had contacted his "son" earlier in the morning. He had to tell Duo.

"Hi!" the returning boy chirped cheerfully.

The shorthaired orphan just nodded back--Sister Helen was watching from the church door.

"I'm okay. I ran through the Ninth's turf so they didn' catch me. An' I got an A on my spelling test," he chattered on to his friend and mother figure. "Serves them Alliance brats right! I was th'only one who got a perfec' score."

"That's very good, Duo. Why don't we go on inside so you can tell Father Maxwell?" Duo ran inside to do just that. Blue followed at a more sedate pace, wondering how he was going to get Duo alone. As he was walking past the door to the priest's study, the longhaired orphan came out. Sister Helen had disappeared to check on the other children.

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay...what?"

"You can't tell anyone else."

Blue grabbed Duo's arms and pulled him into the unoccupied room where Mass was held. He sat down on a dented and scratched pew and started at the worn carpet. Duo plunked down beside him and leaned over so he could see his friend's face. "What is it?"

"I...I have to leave tomorrow."

"Leave? Whaddya mean, leave?"

Blue sighed--this wasn't going to be easy. "I have a contract with a man. I pretend to be his son so he can have a cover story. He's an assassin; I'm only here because he needed for me to go away for a while...but now he needs me again."

"S-so you're gonna go with him?" Duo swallowed convulsively.

"I have to."

"Y-you're gonna come back though, right?" his voice wavered. Blue didn't answer. Duo grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him as hard as he could. "You're coming back!"

"I want to," Blue whispered, tone indicating that wasn't likely.

"No," Duo choked out, "no, you can't go! You-you're..." he stood up abruptly and ran from the room. Blue stared at the carpet and the little wet spots concentrated in two places.

Duo said nothing to him at dinner and avoided eye contact. When it was time to go to bed, he stayed as far away from Blue as the limited mattress space would allow. Blue murmured a goodnight and got no response. Breakfast the next day went the same way. The longhaired boy went to school as usual and came home with a fresh bruise on his jaw. He vanished into Father Maxwell's study until dinner and bedtime.

Not once did he say a word to Blue.

At midnight, Blue slipped form their shared cot and gathered his old set of torn clothing and his transmitter. He looked around the room at the other sleeping children, wondering if there was something he could take to remind him of the orphanage. Nothing...except--he got down on his hands and knees and felt around--there! A button... it had fallen off of Duo's teddy bear when they'd played the day after Blue had arrived there. He put it in his pocket, then looked again at Duo.

Violet eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Goodbye, Duo," he whispered, hardly noticing and not caring about the tears he could feel. "I don't want to go... I want to stay... b-but I can't..." He leaned over and kissed Duo's cheek for the second time and pulled back.

Duo still wouldn't acknowledge him.

He wiped his sleeve across his face and left the room. He was almost to the main entrance when he heard the sleeping room door open again and footsteps thump down the hall. "Blue, Blue wait!"

He didn't have much of a choice; Duo almost tackled him, desperation fueling his actions. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don' wan' you t'go, stay, please stay..."

"I can't," he whispered back, hugging his friend fiercely. "When the war is over, I'll look for you. Please, Duo... I have to go..."

"I'll look for you, too," the violet-eyed boy replied vehemently. The shoulder of Blue's shirt became suspiciously damp.

"I have to go now," Blue broke the embrace with great reluctance, backing up towards the door. He opened it and stood half in, half out of the church. "Look for me."

"I-I will."

Then he was gone.

***

"Duo, please eat something," Sister Helen pleaded. The longhaired boy had barely eaten a thing since his only friend had turned up missing a week ago. He'd become withdrawn and sullen; sometimes the nun found him just sitting on a pew, dried tear tracks on his cheeks. Nothing she did helped, and she suspected nothing would.

***

Months later, after being told to follow his feelings and live a normal life by his late "father," Odin Lowe, Blue sought out the Maxwell Church Orphanage and Duo.

What he found was a pile of rubble and the stench of death.

-end

And then Dr. J found him. x_x *cough* So. How bad was that? Considering it was my first full-length fic in months...*cringe* (You have no idea how depressed I'm going to be if I don't get any feedback. *cough*s  
Extra-big thanks to Pilot02 for betaing! I don't want to think about all the stupid mistakes that would have been in the fic otherwise...

[1] In Episode Zero, a few children say Duo smells dirty, and he gets upset about it, but doesn't show it until he asks Sister Helen if he smells dirty...she comforts him, etc. (In the "official" translated version they say he smells like a sewer. I stuck with the "dirty".)

I believe that is the first time I have ever had a footnote. *gasp*


End file.
